Hotter Hand: Junior guard no longer just a Duke defender

When Nolan Smith gets going, so do the Cameron Crazies.

Duke students often chant "Nolan's rollin' " when Smith cranks up his game, and he has done that a lot this season, making a bigger jump in scoring average than any other returning player in the ACC.

The Blue Devils -- who will play at Boston College at 2 p.m. today -- have needed Smith, a junior guard, to be more than just a defensive stopper.

"I worked on my shot a lot in the offseason, and I've continued to do that during the season," said Smith, who received most of his playing time his first two seasons because of his defensive skills.

Smith has a mid-range jumper that's among the best in the ACC, and he has continued to improve when asked to bring the ball up court. Center Brian Zoubek said that one difference in Smith is how much more active he is on offense.

"I think that he's just playing with a lot of poise," Zoubek said. "And he's playing to his strengths. With his quickness, he's doing a helluva a job of helping us. We count on him every night, and the thing is, he's consistent."

Smith averaged 8.4 points last season. Heading into today's game, he's averaging 18 points.

Smith didn't have a "eureka" moment when he realized he needed to score more, but he said that Gerald Henderson's departure for the NBA after last season changed things.

"Just learning the system and growing in the game of college basketball has helped me along," Smith said. "And knowing when to attack, when to make the right plays, that's what I've tried to do. I want to be able to do it here in February and March because being consistent is really important."

Smith is playing now the way he played at Oak Hill Academy, which means a lot of attacking the basket. He and Jon Scheyer are the hybrid point guards in Coach Mike Krzyzewski's attack, but Smith is a lot more dangerous when he's off the ball. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. The time he missed, he scored nine points in a loss at Georgia Tech.

Smith scored 14 in the second game against Georgia Tech, a Duke romp Thursday, and led the Blue Devils with 22 points in a win at Clemson last month.

"He has been really good all year," Krzyzewski said after the game against Clemson. "He has the ability to create his own shot."

Smith hasn't been forcing things. He's shooting 47 percent from the field, the best percentage of Duke's backcourt players, and a team-best 46 percent from 3-point range (33 of 72).

Although Smith's role on the court is important, he also has taken freshman Andre Dawkins under his wing. Dawkins suffered through a family tragedy in December, when his older sister, Lacey, was killed in a car accident in December while traveling from Ohio to New York to watch Duke play St. John's.

"Yeah, definitely he's like a big brother to me," said Dawkins, adding that the rest of his teammates also have been there to support him. "We do stuff together like the day before a game him and I will come in and take a bunch of extra shots. He's been helping me a bunch with the transition to ACC play.

"He's one of the team leaders, and does so by example," Dawkins added. "He leads by showing the way."

Smith also suffered a loss when Freddie Miller, his maternal grandfather, died late last month. Smith said that Dawkins was there for him then.

"It was good to get back to the team and see the guys again," Smith said. "That's really helped me a lot."

Smith said that the Blue Devils, who haven't had much success on the road in the ACC, have something to prove in today's game, the start of the second half in a tight conference race.

"We're just trying to fight and stay positive," he said.

Smith played 39 minutes Thursday night but said he isn't concerned about the short turnaround.

"You can't think about (Thursday's) game," he said. "You can't think about how many minutes you played, and you can't think about if you're banged up. You've got to just play."

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